Studio 54 Disco Ball
The '''disco ball from Studio 54' plays disco music and creates a vivid light show, particularly when it is smashed into the ground or lit up by a laser. Background Possibly for entertainment and keeping disco eternal, this ball makes Claudia Donovan smile and Arthur Nielsen groan. While it probably should have been packed tightly away in a box where it couldn't have rolled to freedom, when it did make contact with the floor it played "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, ironically starting with the lyrics "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart" shortly after impact. Artie apparently would be happy if the ball would just shut up. How it Works According to Artie, this artifact operates by trapping "desires refracted by light, sound, sex...mind altering drugs into a disco ball." When activated, it "projects yearnings and cravings. It imparts a grim stampeding inhumanity against anything decent," so it basically makes you feel the same way the people who partied at Studio 54 did. Presumably, after hanging so long in the Studio 54 disco hall, the ball absorbed the energy of the place and, as a result, has been keeping disco "alive." In an anthropomorphic sense, the disco ball represents one of the more "playful" artifacts and appears to simply enjoy having a good time. In the same sense, it appeared to be willing to help recapture Alice Liddell's spirit for storage. When it was lit up again by the laser Claudia had rigged, it started broadcasting the line "I've got all my love to give" from I Will Survive. Also at the end of the episode the artifact seemed to show a sign of sentience when after the agents left, it sparked with a glow of energy and began to sing to itself again, like it was in a good mood now that Alice was recaptured and it was hanging like it had been in Studio 54 where it was once housed. Real World Connections The concept of using mirrors as an energy storage and transfer medium is frequently discussed in today's world of solar technology. In the episode "Duped", Artie describes the interaction of the disco ball and Lewis Carroll mirror as like the "shadows on a wall at Hiroshima." He is describing the common effect that resulted from the thermal rays of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Pictures of the after effects show that when the bomb exploded, the rays encountered objects in their path, some human. The resulting collision of rays and objects left shadows on walls, steps, and roads much like photographs, displaying a shadowy imprint of the object encountered, sometimes human in shape. Studio 54 was a New York City night club that is world renowned for being the most famous nightclub of all time and was a sophisticated, groundbreaking multi-media visual extravaganza. The club played a major formative role in the growth of disco music and nightclub culture in general. Appearances *"Duped" *"Don't Hate The Player" (computer simulation only) Disco Ball Category:Psychological Artifacts Category:Season 1 Artifacts